Although I never was into comics, I have been watching the Marvel movies ever since the first one came out. They are always something I look forward to as they offer great entertainment with their usual mix of action and humour. Through the years the Marvel movies introduced audiences to both characters which everyone knew (The Hulk, Iron Man), but also some which only hardcore comic book fans knew (Guardians of the Galaxy). The fact that almost every movie has been successful has meant that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown immensely and that fans (including myself) can’t afford to miss any of them. Although most of the movies are stories on their own, they do have a greater arc in them, which has slowly been building towards something big. A movie which has (almost) each and every character from the MCU in it, but also in which the stakes are extremely high: Avengers: Infinity War. Continue reading
Category Archives: Action
Rampage (2018) – Review
Here we go again, another videogame movie! The track record this genre of movies has is extremely poor and naming great movies is almost impossible. There have been enjoyable ones (still got a soft spot for the original Mortal Kombat), but usually they end up being very disappointing. There are various reasons for this, but usually you don’t play videogames for their stories. Videogames were never that cinematic and although that has been slowly changing it has always been about a player having fun executing the action which is happening on screen. Rampage was a game which basically had no story at all, except that you could control a giant monster which could smash buildings and eat people. It was all about the action, so the makers of this film only needed to do that right in order to stay true to the game. But as showing all action doesn’t work (I’m looking at you Michael Bay), some story is needed as well. Continue reading
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) – Review
I have to confess that I did saw the original Jumanji for the first time last year. And although the CGI clearly was made in a different era, it was still a very entertaining film that not only had moments of tension, but also an emotional charge thanks to Robin Williams and his character. A board game came to life and everyone who played it was obliged to continue playing until the end, if you could at least survive the various attacks of different animals. A remake was not really necessary, but if a film is successful, you can almost guarantee nowadays that it will get made. I was not really looking forward it, but the fact that Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart (together with Jack Black) would play the leading roles and were fun to watch in Central Intelligence, I hoped that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle would turn out to be fun. Continue reading
Tomb Raider (2018) – Review
Two months ago I decided to take a break from blogging on my Dutch site. I did this for various reasons and have not returned writing and it has given me a lot of time to spend on other things which aren’t movie related, including gaming. If you’ve been reading this blog for a longer time you might know I’ve been gaming since Pong machines, but during the last couple of years I didn’t play as much anymore. With my newly found “extra time” though I decided to play some games I had bought and once started (probably something like three years ago).
One of them was 2013’s Tomb Raider, an very good looking game which was a reboot for the franchise. It made the character a more realistic person, both physically and in her reactions to what she was going through. She was very vulnerable. The game quickly got me hooked and I finished it within two weeks and found out there was a sequel available (Rise of the Tomb Raider), which I immediately ordered. It was even better and I finished that yesterday. Wanting to head to the cinema I asked my oldest daughter pick out a movie she wanted to see, which happened to be Tomb Raider. With both games really fresh in my mind I was interested in seeing if it would follow the same storyline and portray the character in a similar way. Continue reading
Bushwick (2017) – Review
Not every film is a masterpiece, but that is not necessary. It is sometimes wonderful to just watch a stupid comedy or simple action movie. When those kind of movies can entertain you, they have achieved their goal. I did not know in advance what I could expect from this action film, in which Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow play the main roles, but I was able to have a great time with it. Continue reading
Bright (2017) – Review
Last year Netflix was involved in a fierce battle around Bright’s rights. They eventually managed to offer more than big studios like Warner Brothers and MGM and payed 90 million dollars for this title. The film is directed by David Ayer, who seems to specialize in police dramas (End of Watch, Training Day, Street Kings) and also major films such as Fury and Suicide Squad, is a title for which expectations were high. With famous actors in the main roles, Will Smith, Joel Edgerton and Noomi Rapace, this is the type of blockbuster for which you would normally head to the cinema. Now you can see it at home after a few clicks on your remote control.
It’s something not everyone is happy about (last year there was a heated discussion at the Cannes Film Festival about what services such as Netflix mean for film in general. Of course the convenience of watching it at home is very nice, but is Bright a title that is worth watching? Continue reading
The Hire (2001/2002/2016) – Review
How many movie franchises can you name on which the best directors like Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan, Tony Scott and Neill Blomkamp have worked on, which have also been produced by David Fincher and Ridley Scott? You will probably respond that such a film series does not exist. That is until you hear of The Hire. BMW Films has managed to bring all these names, plus many more famous actors, together to create a series of short films in which a BMW is shown prominently and is driven by “The Driver” (Clive Owen). Continue reading
The Foreigner (2017) – Review
Although the big action heroes from the eighties and nineties are slowly starting to get old, some continue to make films in the genre as if they were still young. That sometimes produces even more entertaining films, but sometimes an actor has to face reality and adjust the type of roles they play. This may be especially true for Jackie Chan. He is of course well-known for his extreme stunts and fights, but when you get older, things like that aren’t as easy to pull off anymore. You can also see that in the type of roles he has been playing. He has done more voice work and also in his physical roles he does less (think of The Karate Kid or Chinese Zodiac). You can also see this in The Foreigner. A serious role, without his typical humor Continue reading
Justice League (2017) – Review
While Marvel fans are treated time and time again to entertaining superhero films and the company is not afraid to dive into different genres (eg the spy thriller in Captain America: The Winter Soldier or the comedy with Thor: Ragnarok), DC still seems to be looking for what they want to bring their audience. Do they want their heroes to be darker or is it better to have lighter tone and add more humor? Batman vs. Superman was an example of the first, Wonder Woman an example of the second. How have they approached Justice League? Continue reading
Overdrive (2017) – Review
One of the newest additions to the Fast & Furious family was Scott Eastwood, son of Clint Eastwood. He played a character who, to me, was only an annoying addition and he did not convince me of his acting talent. Fortunately, it was a supporting role, but in Overdrive (which happens to also be about a group that has a strong passion for cars), he plays one of the main roles. Does he show another side here? Continue reading